t’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a weekly blog hop hosted by Kellee and Ricki of Unleashing Readers. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
Head over to Unleashing Readers to join the link-up and share your reading!
I Am So Strong by Mario Ramos, Gecko Press, 2025. Translated by Jean Anderson, Lerner Publishing Group, 2007.
As Wolf finishes a fine meal and heads out to the forest for a walk, he encounters other characters (from famous tales, the reader will recognize) and asks them, “Who do you think is the strongest around here?” Of course, the others politely and confidently say, “Oh, you are, Mr. Wolf!” (They don’t want to get eaten! They must be brave and clever with their answers.)
Wolf is feeling quite confident himself; after each encounter, he walks on and being the strongest leads him to believe he is also the fiercest, the nastiest, the Big Bad Wolf! But then, he runs into a creature (“a little toad of some sort”) that he doesn’t know. He asks the toad-like being the same question: “I suppose you know who is the strongest in the woods?” The toad (who is NOT a toad) gives a surprise answer.
You’ll have to read the rest of the book to find out what happened. I’ll bet you can’t guess!
Young readers will like this book after reading “The Wolf and Three Rabbits,” Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Adults who know these stories will recognize the wolf as “big and bad,” although they are not scared of the wolf this time. I would have liked to see the illustrations reflect more of a “scared-but-able-to-give-an-answer” countenance on the faces of the characters who run into Mister Wolf. He does look pretty scary as he walks along.
Also, I would have liked to know more about the end of this story. What did the last character end up doing as it relates to the “Big Bad Wolf?” The story seems to end abruptly.
Overall, this is a cute little addition to your collection of fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and short stories, presented in a colorful paperback book. Enjoy this title with your family.
Recommended for all ages.
Timeline: A Visual History of Our World, by Peter Goes, Gecko Press, 2015. Translated by Bill Nagelkerke from Dutch. Lerner Publishing Group, 2025.
This is a BIG BOOK. Literally! I will house it with my oversized book collection in the school library. Peter Goes Gives us a visual walk through time, starting with the Big Bang (the explosion that started time and matter) and traveling through the time of the dinosaurs…the Middle Ages…The Ming Dynasty…World War 1…all the way to 2024, when AI birthed a new application called ChatGPT.
This is an amazing account of accurate historical events and information, all presented with spirited, buoyant drawings racing through the years across large pages, but also inviting our eyes to hover over the small descriptions of it all. The reader must carefully consider each part of the page as one piece of a very large puzzle called the “timeline.” Fascinating facts! Figures and Features! This is a book for collectors of history and of the meaning of life.
Every family in the world should have a copy of this book to keep, to examine, to ponder. It makes readers wonder what comes after 2025.
Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Head to Toe: An Introduction to the Human Body, by Pui Lee, Post Wave Children’s Books, 2025.
This colorful hardcover book is an excellent resource for school libraries and classrooms. The large, detailed diagrams are easy for children to look at and learn from. (I especially liked the brain, pages 12-13 and the ear, pages 22-23.) Each spread is an infographic, introduced in the Table of Contents with a description and color-coded dot (example: pink dots on page numbers 8-9 refer to hair). The back matter includes further reading and resources, also easy-to-read headings and descriptions.
There is so much to learn in this book! MANY vocabulary words, explanations, and illustrations provide hours of human body knowledge that everyone can use. Adults who read this title with children will be amazed at what they can learn, too.
Add Head to Toe to your classroom, library, or home reference materials. Pull the book out to discover something new each day for many days on end.
Recommended for ages 8 and up.
The Heart of Winter, by Alessandro Montagnana, NubeOcho, 2024. Translated by Cecilia Ross, 2025 (Original Title: Cuore d’Inverno).
(Spoilers) A gentle Christmas story about a family of robins who try to fly to a safer location during a winter storm, only to lose Chip, their small brother who fell when the wind was too strong and the snow was so heavy that he could not see. Chip finds a house and inside was Lula, a lonely fox. Lula was so happy to find a friend; Chip and Lula had the best day, playing in the snow. But Chip became homesick, and just as he was getting ready to find home, his brothers and sisters found him! Lula thought that Christmas Day would leave her alone again, but the family of robins showed up for a joyous celebration!
The art in this book is significantly simple, making quite an impact. The black and white hand-touched snowy trees and movement of the wind in the setting and the red (heart) brightness of the animal characters provide a delightful feel to this picture book that all ages will find cozy and peaceful.
This is a lovely Christmas story, full of heart, warmth, and friendship. Add this gorgeous picture book to your holiday collection.
Recommended for all ages.
BananaNow, by Rafael Ordonez and Cesar Barcelo, NubeOcho, 2025. English translation by Cecilia Ross, 2025 (Original Title: Telebanana).
The animals are so busy playing videos games, chatting with each other on their phones, and using apps to find their way around the jungle that they have no time for anything else, and they forgot to eat! When Hippo’s stomach growled loudly, Monkey heard the ruckus and got an idea – he would be the one to feed the animals! Monkey opened his own food delivery business, BananaNow, and started to work. Day and night, the animals continued to tend to their tech, and Monkey kept working. Monkey was making money! But, as we humans know, there’s always a breaking point. Monkey was tired! He missed the opportunity to relax on the river or chill with his friend, Hippo. That breaking point came just in time for Monkey – Lion ordered a monkey meal for himself and his group of guests. BananaNow abruptly closed, and everything was right in the jungle again. Well…
This humorous satirical story takes the jungle by “technology storm.” Readers of all ages will delight in the shenanigans. Have fun with this title!
Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate is so sweet. This is a quick read and ideal for a read aloud, in my opinion.
Libro.fm: I’m still listening to Return to Sender by Vera Brosgol.
NetGalley: I downloaded Jax Freeman and the Tournament of Spirits by Kwame Mbalia. It was so nice to see him again at the National Book Festival. This is Book 2 in the series.
It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?
Reading Teacher Writes 